Did you know that if you don't sleep enough you start to hallucinate?
If anyone has done research on sleep deprivation, you will know that one of the most common side effects is hallucinations. What Hector does, draining the life force from people, is akin to sleep deprivation which is why Marinette falls alseep so much. Also Incubus - dream demon, you get the point. Meaning Marinette is going through something dangerous in this chapter. But is it really all in her head? Read and find out (my first teaser for a chapter, just wanted to explain something before your read on).
Chapter 10: Moribund
Whoever said that lucid dreaming was wonderful and made you feel weightless should have been shot. Marinette felt anything but wonderful or weightless. Hell, she felt as if a ten ton boulder was strapped around her neck. She could tell she was dreaming because she couldn't remember at any point the Parisian trees or grass being shades of blue and black or the sky turning a sickly gray color. In fact, all of Paris had been painted in dark, depressing and sickly colors.
Marinette wasn't even in her bed, or her home for that matter! She was in the middle of some random street, in her pajamas with no people in sight. That was another thing, there was no people! No sound for that matter! No sounds of shoes hitting concrete, people talking, birds chirping, water splashing in the Seine, nothing. It was if someone pressed the 'MUTE' button on the world. Marinette never remembered her dreams being this weird, or disturbing to say the least, but since she wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, might as well explore it.
'Wow, this is creepy,' thought Marinette as she passed by several deserted streets.
This went on for a few hours, or minutes in the real world. Marinette wished Tikki was in her dream, someone to talk to and give this dreary dream some color too. Before long, Marinette found herself in a hauntingly familiar spot. She was in arrondissement 8, at least the dream version of it, and was staring down the alleyway where Kathy Simon was found. For whatever reason, her legs started moving towards the spot where Kathy's body was found. Closer and closer, Marinette felt like her heart was going to leap up out of her throat until she was facing the exact spot the victim was found.
It wasn't Kathy lying on the ground, no, far worse. The crumpled body was that of a fully jointed, department store mannequin made to look just like Kathy Simon. From the redheaded wig down to the blue-painted fingernails, the doll looked exactly like the girl, realistically so had it not been for the waxy skin and emotionless eyes. Marinette also noted that the mannequin was position the same way Kathy was found in. Thoroughly creeped out, Marinette bolted out of the alley.
'Okay, maybe Tikki was right,' thought Marinette as her feet led her into another alleyway, 'Maybe I have been to obsess with this case.'
As Marinette ran, her feet tripped over a large lump laying in the middle of the alley. She hissed in pain as she landed harshly on her bare arms. Another annoyance of lucid dreaming: you can feel pain even if it's not real. Getting up, Marinette turned angrily at the thing she tripped over and nearly screamed. Next to her was another fully jointed mannequin laying crumpled on the ground, but this one bored a striking resemblance to Amanda Brisset.
Marinette booked it out of the alleyway towards, well she didn't know where but she just had to get away from those damn mannequins. 'Okay, Tikki IS right! I'm too obsessed with the case,' thought Marinette as the scenery around her start to turn into a film noir, 'Got to wake up!'
Unfortunately, Marinette couldn't wake up. For the next half hour, the bluenette's dream kept leading her towards each and every location the Sleeping Beauties' bodies were found in and in every spot were realistic mannequins that each resembled the girls. Even locations that were halfway across the city she had somehow found herself at in mere seconds. The last straw was when Marinette found herself at the location of the first victim, Alexandra Roux. Her body was found tossed careless across the street where cars could have easily run her over. Although Alexandra hadn't been run over or hit by passing motorists, the mannequin depicting her had tire tracks all over her body.
She hadn't realize that she was screaming until her throat started to ache. By the time she finally stopped screaming, she had somehow made it towards her own home. Her family's bakery looked dreary and dead, the display desserts and baked goods were gray and looked unappealing. Thankfully the front door was unlock so Marinette had no trouble getting inside and dead-bolting the entrance and closing the window.
"Marinette..." the blunette nearly jumped out of her skin after she heard that. A faint whisper of her name echoed throughout the building, sending chills up her spine. She couldn't place the gender of the voice as it seemed garbled and fuzzy.
"Mom? Dad?" Marinette called out, sincerely hoping her dream wasn't going to give her anymore frightening experiences, "Is that you?"
"Marinette..." it whispered again, "Please come upstairs."
Marinette really didn't want to go upstairs, mainly because her entire body started shaking uncontrollably, but her legs started towards the back of the bakery and up the stairwell. She kept calling out multiple times for her parents, Alya, her classmates, literally anyone that voice could belong to but the voice just kept beckoning Marinette upstairs. The voice was familiar, she knew that, but for the life of her she couldn't place where she had heard it.
Her living room was bathed in the same color scheme as it was outside, nothing but black, white and shades of gray, yet there was no one in sight. The voice called out to her again and her stomach sank as she realized it was coming from her room. Someone was calling for her in room. "Tikki?" Marinette squeaked as the steps creaked underneath her foot, "I-is that you?"
Carefully opening the trapdoor, trying not to make the gears squeak, Marinette peeked into her room to see...nothing. Nobody was in her room, none that she could see anyway. Climbing into her room, the French-Asian girl started searching throughout her room, up on her bed, on her balcony and anywhere a person could be hiding but found nothing. She started calming down, trying to steady her rapidly beating heart. In the corner of her eyes, she saw something gleaming on her circular window. 'Tikki?' she thought as she came closer to the window, trying to find a familiar floating red dot in the air. Taking a glance out, Marinette's eyes widened as she spotted a silhouette on the other side of the road from her home, staring up at her window.
Pushing herself back, Marinette immediately started pushing furniture, boxes, anything that had weight on top of her trapdoor. Taking another glance outside and, to her horror, the silhouette was gone. She could hear footsteps coming from below, climbing up the stairs and slamming themselves against the opening. Marinette stumbled to climb up her stairs and onto the balcony. Once outside, she shut the trapdoor, locking it just as she heard the crash of the entrance door fly open, the objects that were piled on thrown across the room.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" chanted Marinette, trying to slap herself awake.
She was trapped up here. No fire escape, no Tikki, no passerby to hear her screams for help. She took a quick look down from the railings, she was four stories up and if she jumped she likely end up with one or both of her legs broken. Turning around, hoping to find something to block the balcony trapdoor, Marinette nearly screamed as the thing appeared right in front of her.
Ashen skin, glowing red eyes and elongated fingers with clawed nails were all she could make out, yet that alone almost made Marinette passed out in fright. His entire framed loomed over her, hunched over her, cornering her, giving her no room to move let alone run. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the railings, trying to make out more features, but the more she looked the more fuzzy and indistinguishable it became. Opening it's mouth, did it even have a mouth, he utter his words, "Hello Marinette."
If Marinette hadn't felt faint before she did now when she heard that! It was was same voice, this thing was the one calling her! But that left so many questions. How had it gotten over to the other side of the street? How did it call her from inside her home? Was it even in her home when it called? All these question ran through her mind as she stared back at it, almost hyperventilating. Her eyes undilate as it raised one of it's elongated arm, claws ready and swung it down on her. Marinette shrieked and tumbled over the railing and towards the ground.
Marinette's body thankfully only fell onto the tiny section of floor between her bed and the railing and had not rolled over it, that would have lead to a six foot drop onto the second floor below. She wrestled out of her covers and gasped for air, her eyes rapidly scanning the room. "Tikki!" she croaked out, "Tikki, where are you?!"
"Marinette?" the blunette nearly cried in relief as the tiny kwami flew up towards her, "Are you alright? You're shaking all over and you're covered in sweat!"
Snatching the tiny kwami out of the air without warning, Marinette cuddled Tikki to her cheek, tears pouring down her cheeks. Tikki was confused, unable to keep up with Marinette's blubbering, only able to catch the words 'bad dream', 'mannequins', 'something calling me', 'outside the window' and 'falling over railing.' Tikki quickly shushed Marinette, telling her to take a deep breath and to calm herself. Marinette did just that and manage to steady her heart rate and calm herself down.
Her clothes, the ones she hadn't changed out of yesterday, clung to her sweat-soaked skin, making it uncomfortable and gross. Her hair was a matted mess, blood shot eyes and bags underneath them, despite the long sleep she had. Marinette made a disgusted sound and decided to take an early bath, not wanting to head to school sweaty, smelling and overall gross. It was 6:01 a.m. so Marinette was quiet to sneak into the bathroom, leaving a plate of palmiers for Tikki to snack on for breakfast.
Peeling the sweaty clothes from her skin, Marinette took a long, hot shower, roughly scrubbing both her hair and body. The steamy water manage to soothe her from her nightmare, but the image of those crumpled up mannequin-victims and that looming, red-eyed beast still haunted her. What did it mean? Was her brain telling her that she was too obsessed with the case? Was there a clue she missed that her brain was telling her about? Was that beast the Parisian Incubus? Shaking her head and wrapping herself in a towel, Marinette started drying her hair and getting ready for the day.
"Maybe I should take a break from the case. At least for a little while," muttered Marinette, "After school, I'll go with Alya to that new movie she wanted to see. Yeah, maybe I just need to relax a bit."
Since the weather was changing drastically, she traded in her sweaty clothes for a clean pair of jeans, pleather boots and a thick, knit sweater. The sun had just peaked over the horizon and she could hear her parents below waking up and opening shop. Thankfully, Sabine had told Marinette to prepare her own breakfast as her and Tom had a big morning order and had to get it ready for delivery. Marinette yelled back that she will and waited until she couldn't hear her mother's footsteps anymore before she went down and started snacking on some croissant.
"Shouldn't you eat more?" asked Tikki, "You look like you're going to pass out."
"I'll be okay," replied Marinette, giving a weak smile, "Some fresh air and a little walking might perk me up."
Tikki had to bite Marinette's finger a second time in order to snap her back to life, preventing her head from hitting the table. Somehow, neither Mme. Bustier or Hector had notice Marinette's sleepy state, both too focus on the classroom project. Since winter break was nearing, Mme. Bustier decided it would be best to review with partners, thus the entire class was put into pairs as handed out review sheets with questions for them to answer. Again, Marinette was paired with Hector and every once in a while he would tap her on the arm to get her attention, sometimes grabbing at her arm which really woke her up. Still, Hector hadn't taken into account her tired expression.
But Alya had and had kept shooting glances back at her as she worked with Nino. If she had look bad yesterday, then today she looked flat out dreadful! Dark circles under her eyes, her skin a sickly white, and her normally poofy pigtails were now limp and flat. Marinette herself was surprise that she even manage to get out of bed, much less get dressed and out the door. She had to sneak out the side entrance to avoid her parents. One look at her and her mother would had dragged her by the ear back inside and straight to bed, calling the doctor while she did so. But her physic review was much more important, plus Mme. Mendeliev was a beast when it came to her exams, especially the finals. Unfortunately for Marinette, Physics was her last class of the day and she still had an hour until the Lunch period then Math and Physical Education before Physics.
'No problem, I can make it,' thought Marinette, trying to will herself awake, then pulled two chocolate truffles from her bag and popping them in her mouth, 'Maybe a little sugar rush can help.'
"Marinette," said Hector, grabbing her hand, gosling her out of her thoughts, "Question eight: who were the four members of the Patron-Minette?"
"Uh..." stuttered Marinette, trying to stifle her yawn, "Babet...uh..."
Hector laughed and finished her sentence, "Babet, Claquesous, Montparnasse, and Gueulemer."
"Right...sorry, guess I'm not really focus today," replied Marinette sheepishly.
"I can tell," Hector looked a bit sadden, "It's my fault. I kept you up last night when I visited, didn't I?"
"Oh no, no, it wasn't you," waved off Marinette, "I just didn't sleep well. Hehe..."
Behind her, Chloe stared daggers at her. Although she had been paired with Adrien, she hated the fact that Hector was with Marinette. She had tried to get Mme. Bustier to allow a 3-tier group with her, Adrien and Hector, but was refused and told to finish the review. Unfortunately, Chloe was never known for doing any sort of work, thus leaving Adrien to finish up all the questions for them both. He didn't even try to get Chloe to help, he knew her too well and didn't want her busting out the waterworks so early in the day.
Literature class ended without incident, Mme. Bustier never catching Marinette's exhausted state. Though Chloe couldn't help a few snide comments when the instructor's back was turned but Marinette was too tired to even pay any attention to the spoiled girl. Once Chloe realized that the bluenette was too out of it to even be affected by her insults, she huffed and walked away, pulling Hector and Adrien by the arm. Adrien and Nino couldn't help but look back at Marinette who looked ready to drop at any moment. Hector, however, didn't even give a second glance, just hugged her and said he would see her in history class. Marinette was so drained at that point that she didn't even bother trying to push him off. Strangely enough, she felt even more tired after that event. Alya grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her towards the campus entrance and towards her family's bakery.
"Okay, I've kept my mouth shut for most of the morning but I've had enough," stated Alya, "You are way too tired and look like you're going to drop dead any second. I'm taking you home and telling your folk to call in sick for you."
"No!" Marinette exclaimed, wrenching her hand away from the blogger, "I can't! Mme. Mendeliev will kill me if I miss her review for the final. Plus, I need to be there to take notes."
"I can take notes for you," offered Alya.
Marinette stared at her dryly. "No offense, Alya, but your grade in Physic isn't exactly the greatest. Plus your notes always ramble off from the topic to theories about Ladybug and Chat Noir."
"Hey! At least I'm passing the class," replied the blogger, pouting a bit.
"I'll be fine," expressed Marinette, "Maybe a cup of coffee will help. Let me get my bag that you didn't let me take after dragging me away from class."
Alya looked down and realized that Marinette only had her little pink purse. "Whoops! My bad."
Marinette shook her head in good humor before re-entering the building, Alya saying that she'll wait for her outside. Everyone, students and staff, had already left the campus and where on their way to lunch so Marinette didn't have to worry about bumping into anyone as she stumbles a bit into class, retrieving her pack. Before exiting, she paused for a bit, leaning against Adrien and Nino's table, rubbing her temple as a headache seemed to spread.
"Marinette, are you okay?" asked Tikki popping her head from the purse, a worried expression painted her face, "Please just go home, you can barely walk without stumbling!"
"I'm fine!" Marinette hissed, the stress doing nothing but agitating the headache, "I just need some coffee to wake me up!"
Pushing Tikki back into her purse, she carefully made her way down the stairs. Her fingers gripped the railing as she tried to steady her footing the further she descended. Halfway down, her vision got blurry and her balance started to sway, causing Marinette to sit herself down the stairs, taking deep breaths and trying to soothe that budding headache. Before she could get up, she heard an annoyed scoff from the top of the stairs. Groaning, Marinette thought it was Chloe, forgetting something in her locker and, seeing Marinette in her pathetic state, was about to go on one of her tirades of insults when she looked up and was shocked.
It wasn't Chloe looking down at her in disgust, but rather someone she recognized, someone that should have been lying in a hospital bed, comatosed and unable to move. Alexandra Roux loomed over her, a scowl painted on her face, eyes gleaming with anger and dressed the same way she was found: black jeans, red t-shirt, wedges and several expensive jewelry decorating her. Marinette glanced around the room, hoping that there was someone that was seeing what she was seeing. No one but her and 'Alexandra' were in the building. The French-Asian girl started to think that her exhaustion was finally getting to her.
'A-am I dreaming?' panicked Marinette, 'D-did I fall asleep again?'
"Are you just going to sit there like a moron and let yourself become another one of his victim?" hissed 'Alexandra, "Or are you really that naive and foolish not to realize what is happening?"
Marinette didn't know how to respond to what she was seeing and hearing. 'Am I going crazy?' she questioned, rubbing her head, hoping her hallucination, if that what she's experiencing, would disappear.
"Hey! Quit ignoring me! I know you can hear and see me!" 'Alexandra' yelled, "You'd have to be since you're around him! Wake up, sweetie, before it's too late!"
"Who?" Marinette whispered, not knowing why she was answering a hallucination.
'Alexandra' threw her hands up in relief. "Finally! She speaks," she said before looking down at Marinette, "Listen to me! Get the fuck away from Henry or whatever he's calling himself now and get as far away from him as possible! Do you hear me!? You're going to die if you stay with him!"
Freaked out by the hallucinations, the warnings and the fact that she could barely keep steady on her feet, Marinette tried to drag herself down the stairs as fast as she could but crumbled onto a step. 'Alexandra' groaned and took a few steps down with her until she was only two steps away from the bluenette. "Don't walk away from me! Don't ignore me!" 'Alexandra' yelled.
'She's not real, she's not real, just get away and get to Alya...' thought Marinette as she tried to climb down but the stairs seemed endless.
"Haven't you notice? You're tired all the time, you're skin is paler, you can hardly stand on your own two feet?" questioned the hallucination, "You can see yourself getting weaker and weaker, I know you know. He's draining all your life force and you don't even realize it! Now, tell me what person would want to drain other people's energy? What evil little bug craves the life force of young girls? Wake up and get away from him!"
"What are you talking about?" Marinette gasped, "Are you talking about the Parisian Incubus? Are you saying he's after me? That can't be...the Incubus only goes after spoiled girls...he dates them and...HEY! What are you doing? Let me go!"
"Marinette!" Tikki whispered from her bag, unable to unclasp the lock, "What's going on? Who are you talking to?"
'Alexandra' had grabbed hold of her upper arm in a vise grip. Marinette tried to wriggle her arm free but couldn't muster the strength to even get up. The brunette glared down at her and dug her nails in Marinette's skin. She couldn't help but yelp when the older girl's nail drew blood. Did that mean she wasn't a hallucination? Or was Marinette really going crazy? Marinette clutched her head as her headache got worse.
"Henry has to be stop! But you seem too stubborn and eager to please everyone then to do what's right," hissed 'Alexandra', "Everything and everyone will suffer because you refuse to look at what's right in front of you! Hate to do this...actually, no I don't! Because this is the only way to get you away from him and knock some sense into you! Say night-night!"
Without any warning, the hallucination of Alexandra Roux tossed Marinette over the railing. She couldn't even get enough air in her to scream as her limp body was thrown into the air and fell down six feet. Six feet didn't feel like much, but when you're falling down it seems like an eternity. Marinette never registered Tikki's screams, still in her purse and couldn't see what had just transpired. All Marinette could register was her head hitting the concrete below, the searing pain that exploded in her head and the darkness that soon engulfed her.
One last glance up and 'Alexandra' was already fading away. "Trust me," she said, "You'll thank me for this. At least you'll be safe. For now anyway."
Adrien could list a few things he found truly horrifying: death, any sort of gore or torture in movies, the possibility of his father setting up an arrange marriage to Chloe, those were just a few. But after he and Nino return to the school to retrieve the DJ's new mixtape, Adrien could now add another section to his list: the sound of Marinette's head hitting the concrete. He barely even registered what had happen, all he could see was a flash of pink and black in his peripheral vision and the sickening crack of a skull hitting the ground.
Another thing that was horrifying: seeing Marinette, the sweet, shy and selfless girl in class, lay crumpled on the ground. Adrien didn't realize that Nino was yelling for help or that he was running towards her, kneeling next to her and trying to wake her up. Marinette's skin was pure white now, no color, and Adrien felt dread build up as he put two shaking fingers on her neck, trying to feel for a pulse as they were taught during a health section in science class. There was a pulse, faint and delayed but it was still there.
Everything happened so slowly after that. Alya came bursting in after hearing Nino screaming, nearly screaming herself after seeing Marinette's state. Adrien wasn't sure who had called 112, it couldn't have been Alya as she had been too frantic in putting herself in Adrien's place and cradling Marinette's body, but an ambulance had arrived in mere moments. Somehow, the entire student body had came rushing back onto the campus, crowding around the entrance of the school, watching the unconscious bluenette as she was lifted onto a stretcher and placed in the back of the ambulance. Alya begged the paramedics to allow her to ride with Marinette, stating she was her 'cousin' and pleading with them until they allowed her to ride up front.
After the ambulance had left with the two girls, the entire student body broke out in a frenzy of talks. "Oh my god, what happen?!" asked one student.
"It's the bakery's daughter," answered a female student, "Apparently she got hurt."
"Hurt nothing! She fell off the railing!" yelled another.
More students started chiming in. "I overheard one of the paramedics saying that she had cracked her skull open! That there was blood everywhere!"
"I didn't see any blood," hissed a senior student, "Maybe she's just tired and passed out."
"You don't call 112 if you passed out," replied a snobby voice.
"Do you think she tired to commit suicide?" That questioned seemed to spark even more rumors.
Adrien never felt so disgusted in his life. Suicide? Marinette? That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard! And yet everyone was treating it as if it was fact! Nino came up from behind him, tapping him on his shoulder and pointing across the street to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Sabine and Tom had come outside just as the ambulance turned the corner. Despite the distant, Adrien could see the tears streaming down Mrs. Cheng's face while Tom had a mix of horror and fear on his face. The bakery was quickly closed and the couple flagged down a cab, no doubt heading for the hospital.
"Ugh! What is with all this noise?" sneered Chloe as she, Hector and Sabrina walked back onto campus, "And why was I told that lunch ended early? I didn't even get my dessert!"
One of the students replied to Chloe's question and the blonde girl immediately snorted. "Leave to Marinette to cause such a fuss over nothing," Chloe scoffed, "She's probably not even hurt and just wants attention. Can you believe how selfish Marinette is being, Sabrina?"
"Yep, totally selfish," agreed Sabrina.
"Marinette got hurt, Chloe. That isn't selfish!" Nino growled, "She could have gotten killed!"
"Oh please! She's just calling out for attention and, I have to say, it's pretty pathetic," Chloe said, "Jumping off the railing like that. How dumb can she be?"
"You think she fell off on purpose?!" Nino hissed. Chloe was really lucky Alya wasn't here, nothing would have stopped the blogger from attacking the blonde after that comment. Mayor's daughter or not.
Chloe didn't bother replying as she made her way back into the school, Sabrina in tow. The crowd stared to dissipate as the school staff told them to go back to class as lunch had already ended. Adrien, Nino and Hector were the only ones that still stayed out in the front. While Nino and Adrien were trying to see whether they should finish their classes or leave and visit Marinette, Hector stood silently, a blank expression on his face.
"I'm going to get her flowers," stated Hector, walking towards the exit.
"Huh?" asked Nino, remembering that Hector was still with them, "What'd you say?"
"I'm going to visit Marinette in the hospital," repeated Hector, his voice monotonous, "Do you mind taking notes for me?"
"Uh...sure," replied Nino, "Though it's best that you borrow Adrien's, I'm not the best note-taker."
Hector didn't hear him, or if he did he didn't bother acknowledge it and turned the corner leaving the campus. Adrien couldn't help but notice how weird that was. Hector didn't show much concern when it came to Marinette, someone he claimed to have a crush on. Adrien shook his head, how could he think that?! Hector was one of the nicest person he has met, had to be in order to put up with Chloe.
'Maybe he's just in shock,' thought Adrien, walking back to class, his appetite long gone, 'I'll visit them both after school. Maybe I should bring flowers too.'
School went by painfully slow, mainly because no one was focused on the lessons and the teachers knew it. Everyone was still gossiping about Marinette's fall, making up ridiculous rumors of what could have happen in those few minutes she was alone in the school before her fall. Many were standing by that she had fainted and fell off, stating her tired demeanor in class as evidence. The more cynical side were convinced that she was pushed off. One or two tried to pin it on Chloe, but dropped it once they realized she wasn't near the building when it happen. As to who pushed her, no one had a clue as Marinette was a sweetheart and didn't have a nasty bone in her body.
Adrien's leg kept shaking in impatience, so much so that Plagg popped his head out of his bag to tell him to quit it, that the noise and vibrations were keeping him awake. Mme. Mendeleiev, who was nearing her breaking point and had already yelled at four students in the passed hour, tried to review for her finals. Unfortunately, the students weren't paying attention despite all the warnings and threats she made and simply gave up, passed out the review sheet and told the student to get out of class, thus school ended early. Nino and Adrien immediately headed for the hospital, much to the displeasure of Chloe who wanted Adrien to go shopping with her again.
"Has she called back?" Adrien asked.
Nino shook his head, "No. I've tried texting Alya but she hasn't responded. The only thing she sent was the name of the hospital Marinette was taken to."
Adrien patted Nino on the back as they piled into his limo and told Gorilla to head for the hospital Marinette was taken to. "You think we should buy some flowers for her?" asked Adrien.
"Sure," agreed Nino. "There's a Get-Well shop in the hospital. If you want, we can stop by and buy some flowers and a card for Marinette there."
Adrien nodded, leaning back against his seat. Silence was shared between the boys during the ride to the hospital, the only sound being Nino's fingers constantly texting Alya, trying to get a reply. Adrien couldn't help but worry about the shy bluenette, praying in his head that whatever happen to her wasn't damaging and that she would make a speedy recovery. Seeing Marinette lying there on the ground, unconscious, reminded him of the Sleeping Beauties victims, all lying in their own hospital beds, practically dead to the world.
"Hey!" Plagg whispered from the bag, "Don't worry so much, you're making me feel bad."
Glancing up, Adrien was relieved to see Nino with his headphones on, listing to some of his favorite mixes he'd play when he was feeling down. "Sorry, I'm just worried that one of my friends fell from a six foot drop and nearly cracked her skull open," Adrien hissed, "Can't you be a little concern?"
"I am," replied Plagg, "But the fall isn't what you should be worried about."
Adrien looked at Plagg in confusion, "What do you mean?"
The cat-like kwami shook his head, "Not here. Wait until we're in her room, then I'll confirm it."
Adrien didn't say anymore and just stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by. Five minutes later, the limo finally arrived at the address that Alya had sent to them. Stepping out, Adrien froze and a cold chill ran down his spine, his demeanor went unnoticed by Nino and the driver. He knew this hospital, or rather Chat Noir did as he made two visits to it, one with Ladybug and one to meet Victoria Roux. Marinette was taken to the hospital housing the Sleeping Beauties victims.
Annoyance coursed through his veins as he made his way to the hospital. Of course Alexandra had to make trouble just when he was almost finished with Marinette. One of the downsides of his powers, besides the amount of energy needed to craft bodies, was the intermingling of the energies. As he collected their life-force, their 'essences' still remained attached to their energies, still giving the girls access to their energies even when he used it. During his time with his fourth victim, Alexandra's energy had manage to manifest itself and tried to communicate with his victim. Thankfully, she was too weak at the time and his gullible target chalked it up to drinking too much.
How Alexandra even managed to do that was a feat itself, the girl was far too lazy and entitled to do anything on her own, much less lift a finger to help anyone else. Then again this could be just her selfish desire to wake up and get back at him, it wouldn't be the first time. Sadly for her, each and every one of his target ignored her or thought they were seeing things after too much alcohol. He didn't really do anything to stop or prevent the manifestation, he enjoyed seeing the look of frustration and anger that passed through Alexandra's face. He'd laugh sometimes, which pissed her off even more. Plus, it was only Alexandra, none of the other girls could do it, so why worry?
Unfortunately, Marinette wasn't like the other girls. She wasn't so quick to brush off something like Alexandra. And now that Alexandra was apparently strong enough to toss one of his victim over a railing, he knew he was in trouble. She was getting through to Marinette, he could tell, trying to warn her about him. Did she know about his deadline? Was she trying to intervene on his plan long enough for the Voice to get fed up and remove his powers? Who's to say? Luckily for him, Marinette was heading towards the same hospital that all his victim were in. 'Guess I need to pay Alexandra another visit,' he thought. Killing two birds with one stone, if he was lucky, Marinette wouldn't be released and would have to stay overnight.
As he arrived at the hospital, he couldn't help but smile at the memories it brought him. He promised not to return to his victims, but you know how memories could just pull someone in. And beside, he had to make sure Alexandra wouldn't pull another stunt like that again, though after seeing Marinette in her state, the bluenette would probably just think she's going crazy.
"I'll kill you!" he rolled his eyes as Alexandra's voice continue to shriek in his head, usually he'd shut her out but he decided to let her vent, it would be the last time she does it for a long time, "Do you hear me?! I will kill you! When I get out of here I'll hire someone to finish you off. I'll make them cut off your limbs, send your decapitated head to your family..."
"Yes, yes, that's nice dear," he muttered walking into the building, "I guess I'll visit your room first."
"What..." her voice started to waver, going from outrage to flat out fear, "No...stay the hell away from me! Get away! Do you hear me? STAY BACK!"
He rolled his eyes as he waved at a few passing nurses, all who blushed when they saw him. Guess Marinette will have to wait a while longer, he still had a few loose ends to tie up. Time to see his ex again.
Well that was...a bit shorter than the last. I didn't want to fill it up with any unnecessary details or fillers and such. Anyway, like I said in my last chapter, I'm starting up a poll on which new Miraculous fanfic I should start next. Remember, I'm started the new fic AFTER I finish O & B.
Anyway: POLL IS UP!
To see the choices, I've post them up on my tumblr page, check my FF profile for the name. (Apparently FF's profiles don't let me add links so it's just the name, sorry XP. I'll tried trying to put up a link but it apparently won't let me. I think it just hates links.) Read the choices (you can vote multiple choices) and vote on either on the tumlr post or the poll on my FF profile. Or both if you can! I apologize for any guest readers, the polls here on don't allow you to vote but if you have a tumblr profile you can on my tumblr post. For those of you who can't vote either way (guest user or no account) you may put your vote in your review. Anyway, I'll have the post up on tumblr by the time you finish this chapter. Thanks again for sticking by me. Only a few more chapters to go before O & B is completed.
Read, Review & Vote!
Also, shout out to a guest review who left a review on ch. 8 about how O & B gives an insight to rape culture. I actually caught this midway through my fic, it wasn't intentional but it does bring a lot of stuff into focus. I'm glad someone caught on to some of the tragic stuff that happens when dealing with crimes like this. I, myself, never suffered going through this but I know many people have and this just touches on the stuff they go through. Especially when the perpetrator is consider a 'good boy/girl' and they blame the victim.